Shadow
by Ashynarr
Summary: All America wanted was a friend who wouldn't leave him. All the Shadow wanted was a meal. When the two meet, neither had any idea just how they would affect the world... De-anon from Kink-meme, Shadow!Canada
1. Meetings

Shadow (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: All America wanted was a friend who wouldn't leave him. All the Shadow wanted was a meal. When the two meet, neither had any idea just how they would affect the world...

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Shadow!Canada, alt. look at the 'canon' timeline

livejournal Prompt: /22015 . (h/t/m/l) ?thread=92892671#t92892671 (remove dashes in parentheses and spaces)

((This should only be six or seven chapters... and I did promise I would get to it at some point for the OP...))

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

[Early 1600s]

America sat alone near the edge of the forest near his house, sniffling lightly. His big brother England had gone back to his home across the sea again, and the young colony was very lonely. One of the wild rabbits that lived in the field approached him, nose twitching as it watched him. The boy picked it up and started cuddling it gently, but he still felt very alone.

"I miss Arthur..." he mumbled to the rabbit. "Why does he have to go away so much, Mr. Bunny?"

He buried his face into it's soft fur. "I wish I had a friend who would never ever leave, no matter what."

It was a childish wish, and one that under most circumstances would have gone unanswered. But in this case...

~0~0~

It flitted in between the trees, staying away from the stray patches of light streaming through the treetops. As a Shadow, it had no awareness or identity in human terms; merely an existence that could at any moment evaporate into nothing.

It was alone in the area, it knew that much. Its kind preferred hidden caves and other dark, isolated places, away from the lightbearers and their fires. The only reason this Shadow was even this far from its own den was hunger.

Lightbearers feared it and its kind, because they ate dark thoughts and made the lightbearers sick because of it. It wasn't malicious in any way – it was merely what they ate – but it had become dangerous to linger in one place too long lest they move away and force the Shadow to move as well.

But this time the lightbearers had gone without prompting, replaced with new ones who were very strange. Others of its kind had eaten from them, but they seemed to be more prepared for them, for there were fewer who came back after a few darks.

It came near the edge of the forest, lingering in the darkness. It would have gone on, but its instincts were telling it there was a lightbearer nearby, alone. Since it could not go out into the sun, and it couldn't wait until dark lest the lightbearer left, it chose to shift, taking on the form of a small black fox, yipping to get its attention.

~0~0~

America sniffled again, his head raising from where it had been buried. He tilted his head, listening, and heard the yips repeat. Curiosity captured for the moment, he turned and peeked into the woods.

He hesitated, remembering his promise not to wander too far into the woods in case he ended up lost. Finally, he promised himself he would stop right before he lost sight of the field.

After a few moment's walking, he stopped, only a thin patch of blue visible where he'd come from. He still couldn't see the creature that had made the noise, although he was sure it had come from around here. With a sigh, the colony just decided to head back to the house, the momentarily forgotten loneliness returning now that he wasn't distracted anymore.

~0~0~

As soon as the lightbearer had entered the woods, the Shadow went back to its normal formless self, waiting. A few moments later it sensed the lightbearer – small; young? - approach. It waited a bit, moving closer slowly, before entering the child.

One of the things that came with entering a person to feed was a human form of awareness. And the moment the Shadow came into awareness it stopped, hunger momentarily forgotten in favor of curiosity.

The first thing it noted was that this was a young one, yet at the same time he wasn't quite human like the others. Where most people had small flames of spirit, this boy had a brilliant bonfire that almost hurt to be near. The Shadow prodded carefully at it, feeling many other humans' presences from the touch.

Interesting.

It pulled back, turning away from the spirit to the heart, where it was surprised to see this amount of loneliness in someone. Didn't this child have others to be with?

It mulled, before deciding it was worth the risk and turned to the mind instead, quickly taking in all the memories all at once – Nation, England, big brother, Europe, across the ocean, France, not human, land and people, have to hide -

alone.

A wish.

…

It was insanity. It had no idea whether this would even work or not. But it understood loneliness in a sense, and wanted to stick around if only to learn more about these not-humans. It was relatively young for its kind, so it felt a sort of kinship with this boy.

It looked back at the boy's spirit again, inspecting it before making a decision. It extended out, carefully touching before inching in. There was resistance; it was barely able to move. But it was already far enough – the Shadow broke off a piece of itself, leaving it there before pulling away.

Now that the deed was done, it felt rather – odd. On a stray whim, it left the boy, returning to the outside world. It then, after a moment to notice that the awareness hadn't left yet, shifted again, but to a much larger form than it ever had before. It stepped forward once the transformation was complete, tugging lightly at the boy's shirt.

~0~0~

America had barely taken a step before stopping, suddenly feeling very weird. It was like there was something engulfing him on the inside, making him hyperaware of his own body. He squirmed, not enjoying the feeling at all, especially when it started poking him on the inside. He wasn't sure what was happening or why, only that he didn't feel alone anymore.

After a few minutes like this, the feeling drained out of him, and he shivered. But he still didn't feel like he was alone, even though he knew there was no one else around here. The colony shook his head, ready to just go home and leave the woods and all its creepiness behind.

There was sound behind him, and an insistent tug on his shirt. He twirled around, wide-eyed, only to lock gazes with a pair of violet eyes in a boy who looked just like him.

~0~0~

[Modern times]

"C'mon Matt, hurry up!"

Canada sighed, once again marveling at America's impatience. How many times had he already said he still needed to find his glasses, which if anyone had cared would notice looked rather similar to his neighbor's own pair.

No one had questioned why he'd somehow ended up with glasses around the same time his southern twin had gotten his, nor why his looked so similar. It fact, people rarely questioned him at all, because most of the time they either forgot he existed or thought he was the superpower.

To be fair, the fact that he even had a life like this at all was a huge step up from before. He was used to being able to think, form plans, and otherwise do things on more than just vague instinct. At this point he wasn't sure how he'd be able to handle going back to... before. Even the concept made him shiver, causing him to bump his head against the cabinet and knock several things down, including the missing glasses.

"Found them." He sighed thankfully, putting them on even though he didn't actually need them.

America appeared behind him as if on queue. "Finally! Dude, why do you keep losing you stuff in such weird places?"

The northern Nation shrugged, knowing it was because he sometimes lost memories during the times where he wasn't in human form. It was inconvenient, but he was used to it and didn't worry too much about it.

He was dragged out the door and to the superpower's car, barely managing to close the door behind them; he hoped nothing would be missing when he got back, although that was unlikely in this neighborhood.

"Where are we going again?" The Canadian asked, earning a laugh from the other Nation.

"We're heading to the meeting! Geeze, you're so forgetful, Matt!"

"Sorry..." He replied, ducking his head sheepishly. "At least I have you around to remind me, right?"

He felt a hand clap on his leg and winced, knowing his southern brother had probably forgotten to hold back again; it was at moments like this where he was glad he couldn't feel the full amount of pain he should probably be feeling right now. "Of course! Without me you'd probably forget where you live and get eaten by polar bears or something!"

Canada gave a weak chuckle. "I doubt that would happen..." He then noticed the way his brother gripped the steering wheel – a tad too tight – and, glancing back at the other, finally realized the American felt nervous. "You okay, Al?"

" 'm fine." America responded instantly, grip just a bit tighter.

The violet-eyed man sighed, placing a hand on the other's leg and carefully starting to drain the nervousness away. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

The American nodded slowly, grip loosening as the nerves drained away. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a bit nervous, ya know? I have this great idea but I'm not sure how the others 'll take it..."

"It'll be fine, I'm sure." The northern twin replied with a smile, "You're worrying over nothing again."

"Yeah... yeah." The blue-eyed man responded, sighing thankfully even as his brother finished draining the last of the tension from him. "It'll be fine. Thanks for listening all the time, Matt – I always feel better after talking to you."

"No problem; I'm always here to help."

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Firstly, what 'Canada' is... well, I did in fact look up some old Native mythology, and apparently there were some tribes that believed in 'Shadow Beings'. The spirits would go into people's houses and eat negative thoughts, making the person sick. The closest equivalent I can think of in popular culture is a Lethifold (from the Harry Potter series), but it's not quite that? Whatever.

Second, this is another one of those stories where I lean closer to the webcomic canon than my 'canon', so be warned now that things will in fact be different for people used to my normal characterization. But the twins are still bros, so all is good in the end.

And third, each chapter will be like this – first half in the past and second half in the present.


	2. England

Shadow (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: All America wanted was a friend who wouldn't leave him. All the Shadow wanted was a meal. When the two meet, neither had any idea just how they would affect the world...

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Shadow!Canada, alt. look at the 'canon' timeline

hetalia-kink livejournal Prompt: /22015.(h/t/m/l)?thread=92892671#t92892671

((Alright, 7 chapters overall. Helps to actually look at my story notes, ya know?))

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"Alfred?"

The Spirit, now dubbed 'Mattie!' by the little colony, glanced from his hiding spot behind a tree to look at the newcomer. From America's memories, this man known as 'Artie' or 'England' was the other boy's caretaker of sorts... when he was around. It frowned a bit – 'England' was the source of the boy's fondest memories and his loneliness, so the Spirit wasn't entirely sure how to feel towards him.

Green eyes scanned him over, brow crinkling slightly in confusion. "No... you aren't Alfred... who are you?"

Oh right, this was where it was supposed to give its 'name'. "Matt." It told the older man, voice barely above a whisper. Sure, it'd figured out how to mimic human speech from America, but for the life of it it couldn't figure out how to make its voice carry like the colony.

England frowned lightly. "Ah, could you repeat that?"

'Matt' took a deep breath. "Matt." It forced the word to an almost average range, thankful when the name apparently registered with the Nation.

"I see. It's nice to meet you, Matt. Tell me, are your parents around here? You seem awfully young to be out on your own."

The Spirit shook its head. Even if it knew where its progenitor was, it's not like there was any sort of emotional tie there. England's eyes started to gleam in interest.

"Do you happen to have any parents?"

Again it shook its head. The Nation hummed lightly in interest.

"Can you tell me where you came from then?"

'Matt' tilted its head before turning pointing in the direction it remembered coming from, vaguely recalling that to be 'north'. It then startled at the brief laugh coming from the man.

"Both of them came to me... I can't wait to see the expression on that frog's face when I tell him I have _his_ colony with me." England didn't seem to be talking to it, so it remained silent, although curious about who he was talking about.

After a moment, he moved to scoop up the Spirit, looking a bit surprised as he did so. "You're light as a feather."

Was it supposed to weigh a lot? Another thing to look into later. For now it marveled at being carried somewhere, even if that somewhere was just back to 'home'.

"Alfred!" England called when they were near the front door. "I'm back! And I have a surprise for you!"

A spike of excitement it could feel even from here came over the connection. The sound of rapid footsteps made its way to the door, America all but flinging it open. "Arthur! You're back!"

"Of course. And look who I found wandering-"

"Mattie! You were supposed to hide in the house!" The colony accused, frustration obvious even to someone who couldn't feel his emotions directly.

"Sorry, I forgot..." The Spirit replied quietly.

"...you've met?" The older man asked them, looking surprised.

America looked back to his caretaker, grinning. "Uh-huh! I found him by the woods out back! Can he stay with us, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

England chuckled briefly. "Of course." He crouched down to ruffle his colony's hair. "You did a very good thing by bringing him here, Alfred. I'm proud of you... even if you weren't supposed to go into the woods by yourself."

The last part put a small damper on the overflow of emotions, but it was still fairly overwhelming to the young Spirit. "I didn't go too far..."

"You shouldn't have gone in at all. I'll think of a suitable punishment later." America swallowed, nervous. "But for now, we should get your brother officially situated in the house, don't you think?"

"Brother?"

England smiled. "Of course; after all, this is Canada, the colony just north of yours. I feel he'll be staying with us for quite a while..."

~0~0~

Canada shifted in his seat, on edge from the watchful gaze on him. He had no idea what he'd done to merit so much interest from his former mentor, but it gave him a bad feeling none the less.

He forced his attention back to his brother, whose ideas had as in most cases not gone over well with the others. Briefly he wondered why the rest of the world hadn't caught on that the 'crazy' ideas were just a way to release stress while he tried to think up (or push through) an actual solution. After all, there were only so many times one could say 'no progress on increasing the number of wind farms / solar panels / etc.' before it got monotonous.

Ah well. It would just stay their shared little secret for a while.

Finally America was called off the podium, meaning it was his turn to speak. With a quiet sigh he stood up, passing by his twin and getting a clap on the shoulder before taking the stand.

"Good morning everyone. There have been several changes of note in my country – Canada – since the last meeting..."

He allowed his voice to reach just the right volume to carry – in the absence of solid vocal chords (and hadn't the advances in anatomy been a lesson? It made things so much easier when he understood what, where, and why everything was where it was), he had to make due with using more energy in order to speak normally. Even with the fast pre-meeting 'snack', he'd still be drained by the end of his speech.

Thank god the meeting broke for lunch after this. It'd make things so much easier.

Wait, what were those around England? Were those... faeries? And why were they-

Oh no, could they tell what he was? Damnit, why hadn't he just called in sick with something and not gone to a meeting in the British Isles of all places?

Wait, that wouldn't have worked, because there was a good chance America would have dropped the meeting as well to try and take care of him (the main goal, of course, being getting out of the meeting). Crap.

He chewed on his lip for a second before continuing. Things would be fine – all he had to do was stay close to his brother and nothing bad would happen.

The end came far too quickly for his liking. Canada hastily made his way back to his seat, gathering up the papers as quickly as possible so -

"Hello, Matthew."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck tabernac -

"Hello Arthur..." His voice was quiet again, preserving energy now that he didn't need to be loud.

"I hope I'm not interrupting any plans for lunch..."

"Actually, I was just about to go with Al to get something to eat."

A noncommittal hum. "Then why did he just walk out the door while talking to Kiku?"

- marde son of a bitch damnit Al why hadn't you just stayed put -

"Ah, Kiku was joining us for lunch; they went ahead to get a table while I pick up my papers."

England looked thoughtful. "They wouldn't mind if one more tagged along, would they? I'm not very interested in dining with the others today."

"Sure; I'll just go and ask -"

"I'll come with you, of course. No need to wait for you to get back to me with an answer that way." The smile the island Nation gave him was completely innocuous, but it still proof he wasn't giving the younger Nation a chance to vanish on him.

Maintaining a calm facade, Canada finished picking up his papers and started making his way towards where America was, the Englishman right beside him. Neither tried breaking the silence, which gave the Canadian a chance to try to think over his next step carefully. From what he could tell the next two turns were rather close together, which would allow him a chance to stay out of site until he could find a safe place to disappear for a bit. It was a stretch, but he had to do it before they were alone.

Five steps, four, three... he could do this. He could.

He had to.

His next step launched him into a run, and he was around the corner before the exclamation of surprise could leave his mentor's lips. Another turn as footsteps started after him, and he blew past his brother without a thought except to get away.

Another turn, and he reached a long hall with no offshoots but plenty of rooms. Entering the first one he could find, he shut the door behind him, sliding down the wood with a sigh of relief as he took in the room he'd ended up in. Too bright, he thought with a small frown, no good for slipping into the shadows.

There was a window over on the far side of the room. Pushing himself to his feet, he went over to it to try and pry it open, but it refused to budge.

"Going somewhere?"

The Canadian turned slowly, meeting the annoyed expression of England with a confused one of his own. "Why are you doing this?"

"I just want to ask you a few questions, Matthew... or should I call you that, Spirit?"

Canada swallowed. "But I _am_ Matthew!"

"We'll see about that."

Everything happened in a blur - England's hand rose to him, glowing with magic; The door slammed open, America wide-eyed as he took in the scene; a flash of light illuminated the room; someone screamed as the world blurred out of focus.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Fun fact – I had plans for another chapter before this one which featured Al 'naming' Matt in the past and their arrival and encounter with Arthur before the meeting, but I realized I could just thread those important tidbits into this one and scrapped the chapter.

Also, yes, it is in fact England's fault Matt ended up becoming 'Canada'.


	3. Break

Shadow (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: All America wanted was a friend who wouldn't leave him. All the Shadow wanted was a meal. When the two meet, neither had any idea just how they would affect the world...

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Shadow!Canada, alt. look at the 'canon' timeline

hetalia kink livejournal Prompt: /22015.(h/t/m/l)?thread=92892671#t92892671

((You know, this story always had the potential to become AmeCan – it's even in the prompt as OP preference if I had chosen to go down that route – but to be honest the less I force romance the better my stories come out. Even my deliberate shippy things are sort of soft in terms of romance.))

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

America had been restless lately.

After their recent joint growth spurt, the southern twin had started going into town more often, coming back twitchy and – thoughtful. Of course, Canada knew exactly what was going on – the Americans were getting angry at the small island country across the ocean, and wanted rights the English were not providing them.

The Nation, though, was a different matter. The colony was torn between those who wanted to break away and those who were still loyal to the crown, and all it would take was a single nudge in either direction to finalize the decision.

Knowing his brother, it would end up the former.

He wanted to see his twin win. He wanted to help him in his quest to be an equal to their mentor. There were a lot of things he wanted for himself, his brother, for both of them... but at the same time, he knew how unlikely it was for the colony to win on his own. He was undermanned, barely trained, and still somewhat dependent on their colonizer for protection.

On top of that, his own people wanted nothing to do with the Americans or their desire to leave England's protection. That meant he was in a bind, as he couldn't just go against his people over a matter this large. That meant if – no, when – the southern twin asked him to join him, there would be only one response the Canadian could give.

And it wouldn't be a good one.

"Hey, Matt!"

The northern colony looked up, catching his brother's eye. Despite the cheerful demeanor he was giving off, America was nervous beyond belief. "Hey Al. You're back early today."

"Yeah... about that..."

Canada closed his book, setting it to the side.

"...I'm going to break away from England." Not Arthur, "And I want you to come with me."

~0~

England's head hadn't moved from where it was held in his hands, face hidden from view, so Canada had no idea exactly what the island Nation was feeling. He could guess, though, from what he'd learned of humans and Nations are their differences.

_England_ didn't care one way or the other for the rebellious colony of America. It was an annoyance and a distraction it didn't need, what with the budding Emipre ensconced with a war back at home. If the war stretched on too long it would just cut its losses and give up control of the region.

_Arthur_, on the other hand, wasn't taking it nearly as well. Sure, he might not have been a great older brother, forced to be away so often that the twins had all but raised themselves, but it was clear to see how hard he tried and how much he cared when he was around. Alfred probably wasn't fairing much better, even if America was relentless in its fight for freedom.

"He returned this letter as well." The Englishman idly noted, referring to the unopened envelope in front of him. Like the ones before it, the script across the front was written with deliberate care, the words inside much the same.

"He'll come around eventually, Arthur." Canada placated, placing a comforting hand on his mentor's shoulder. It was a lie, but one meant to comfort.

England saw right through it. "We both know how stubborn he can be when he sets his mind to something. The only way he'll come back is kicking and screaming."

The colony was silent for a moment. "I could try sending him a letter this time. Maybe he'll listen to me."

The Nation's head rose, staring at his loyal colony with an unreadable expression. After a moment his eyes shut. "I doubt you will have any more luck than I, but if you feel the need to try I won't stop you."

Thanking England, the Canadian boy made his way to his room, grabbing a pen and paper and beginning to write. He paused several times, thinking over his words before continuing on.

When he finally finished it was well into the night. Checking in on the Nation the other was already asleep, face unmarred by the stress of several wars going on at once. With a sigh he left the room, setting the letter down so that it could be given to the next messenger to come by the house.

It wouldn't work – England was right on that – but at the least this letter would be opened, if only to see whether it was the northern colony changing his mind about joining the revolution.

Now all he could do was wait. Luckily he was very good at that.

~0~0~0~

Pain.

The only constant thing it registered was agonizing pain, body fighting to keep itself from tearing apart. Thought was lost to it for the moment, but it still recognized that if it let itself collapse to its normal form it would not survive. So even though the pain was unbearable, it forced itself to stay like this.

It extended out, blindly reaching for its food source, its safety, its den. In the mire of mixed input it was receiving, the flame of spirit was like a beacon in the night. It moved forward shakily, almost falling, but at the last moment it was caught. It clang desperately, allowing itself to curl into the safety of the form curled protectively around it.

A myriad of emotions flowed across the frayed, yet still sturdy link. Like a feast before a starving man, the Spirit didn't hesitate to start taking advantage of the overflow, slowly pulling itself together as it regained its strength.

The two lightbearers – no, humans – were talking.

"What the hell are you doing, Arthur? Mattie's freaking traumatized!"

"That is not Matthew. I don't know what it is, but that is not your brother."

"I think I would recognize my own brother!"

"That _thing_ isn't even human! If it was Matthew my spell would have had no effect on it at all!"

"None of us are human!"

"You know bloody well what I mean Alfred!"

It didn't fully register the words either was saying, but the concept came through. The other one – Arthurblondemeraldeyesisland Nationacrosstheoceanbigbroth ercaretaker _England_ – was trying to hurt it further, while the one holding it – Alfredblondskyblueeyessuperp owersouthNationtwinbrotherpr otector _America_ – was trying to protect it.

It ceased allowing visual input to clutter its broken train of thought, exhaustion overcoming it. Its grip relaxed, and the- arms around it held it close and steady while a familiar voice whispered soft, friendly words. America was – doting? - on it, and that was fine. America would keep it safe. America wouldn't let it die.

Anything not vital to maintaining the form it was in shut down so it could 'heal' more efficiently. So many supports and ties had been broken or torn at from– England's spell... carefully, it started working at these, repairing itself bit by bit while the world around it was ignored.

~0~

Canada woke up later, turned into bed. It took a few bleary moments for his mind to piece together the events of earlier – and tabernac some memories were missing again, that would be a nightmare in the future – eyes snapping open when he finally recalled everything.

England had found him out, and the northern Nation had no idea whether the Englishman had convinced his twin brother of anything or not. The fact that he hadn't been consigned to the death of other Spirits was a good sign at the least – he really hadn't fancied the idea of dissolving all that much.

The shades were drawn, showing that it was well into the evening, almost approaching dusk. Idly he pulled an arm out from under the sheets, letting the light play across his hand. The Canadian frowned at the slightly ashy tint to his skin; it seemed he hadn't quite recovered yet despite all of the repairs being finished.

The door opened, his brother stepping in a quietly as possible. Upon spotting the now-awake Nation, America smiled in relief.

"Hey Mattie." He started, closing the door behind him and walking over to sit on the bed beside his twin. "You really scared me back there, you know."

"Sorry..." Canada replied out of habit, smiling softly. "What happened? I don't remember much after Arthur..."

"Well, you just sort of went into shock, and I had to calm you down. Me and Arthur fought for a while, and then he let me bring you back to the hotel so you could recover."

Vague memories of the argument passed through his mind. "What was it about?"

"Nothing important." America responded quickly. "Just something stupid."

The northern twin frowned; his brother was nervous about something, obvious even to someone who couldn't feel his emotions from the way the bed shifted constantly under him. "Al..."

"Alright, alright..." The superpower sighed. "Arthur is convinced you're like some sort of evil spirit or whatever. Dumb, right? I mean I think I'd be able to tell if my own twin was replaced with some sort of magical creature-"

"You believe him, don't you?"

America looked startled. "No way, bro!" At the continued passive stare, he sighed and slumped a bit. "...maybe a little. He was just really convincing 's all – I just -"

"You're afraid he might be right."

His brother nodded, not looking at Canada anymore. Said Nation wrapped his arms around the American, hiding his face in the other's shoulder while giving him a warm hug. "I swear to you, I'm your brother. Just... give me a chance to explain."

Now came the hard part. The northern Nation swallowed, then began.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Ah, see how I reverse the pronoun use? I love how the parallels just pile up in this story. Also, I keep cutting out unnecessary bits and shortening my story. I don't know whether this is good or bad. For the looks of things this will be just four chapters after all. Oh well.

Other stories should see updates in the near future. No promises as to days, only generalities.


	4. Trust

Shadow (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: All America wanted was a friend who wouldn't leave him. All the Shadow wanted was a meal. When the two meet, neither had any idea just how they would affect the world...

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: Shadow!Canada, alt. look at the 'canon' timeline

hetalia kink livejournal Prompt: /22015.(h/t/m/l)?thread=92892671#t92892671

((Last chapter. After thinking over several different possible explanations I felt this one was the cleanest, and tied in best with the webcomic. Hopefully you like it!))

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"...I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but..." The northern Nation bit his lip. He couldn't get a good read on his brother with all the different emotions running through the other. America hadn't spoken once since he started, or made and other movement.

To be honest, it worried him more than a solid response would have.

"If you aren't Canada..." Another voice spoke up after a moment's silence. "...then who is?"

The Canadian's gaze rose up, staring at the Brit who had entered without either of the twins noticing. "I-"

"Artie? When did you get here?"

"I heard the entire explanation, if that's what you're wondering. I heard you two talking and decided to let myself in, if only to satisfy my curiosity. I believe Matthew-" He stressed the name, making it clear he was distinguishing the Spirit from the Nation. "-was about to answer my question?"

The northern brother looked between the two as he pulled away, unable to ignore the similar silent demands for an explanation. After a moment he sighed. "...Quebec."

"What?" "Huh?"

"The original Canada. Before Arthur came back and took me in, Quebec was the representative for the French colonies up north. But then Arthur started calling me Canada and France came to see me and then everyone else knew about me and somewhere in there I sort of ended up pushing him to the side-" He took a deep breath. "I really didn't mean to do that to him. And he wasn't happy about it either once he found out. It's why he keeps trying to break away from me."

"That... makes a disturbing amount of sense." The island Nation admitted. "...does that mean you, for all intents and purposes, _are_ Canada?"

"Sort of?" The Canadian hurried on at the look he received. "I mean, I do everything the rest of you do for my country, and I do consider them my people, but... I don't have all the same benefits of Nationhood. I don't have the same physical strength or durability or sixth sense about my country, and if I died..." He swallowed. "If I died, I wouldn't come back."

There was a long moment of silence after that statement. "...Then why? Why pretend to be a Nation, to be human, for so long?"

"...I was – _we_ were lonely." His glance flickered over to America briefly before returning to England. "And I was curious, I guess."

"We?"

The next words startled both of the other Nations, being a perfect mimicry of the American's voice as a child. " _'I miss Arthur... why does he have to go away so much, Mr. Bunny? ...I wish I had a friend who would never ever leave, no matter what.' _That was what you asked for that day. I wanted to know more about you and the other Nations, and... I guess you could say I sympathized with you, Al.

"Beings like me... we live our entire lives on our own. And to meet a human, any kind, so young and lonely... well, I didn't think there was anything wrong with staying for a while. I just didn't expect it to be quite so long, or such a big deal to me and everyone else."

The northern brother looked away, shutting his eyes. "I... I've really gotten used to living like this, instead of just- _existing_ like I used to before I met you. I can understand if you want me to go, though."

He was terrified of what would come next. He'd basically told the two most important people in his life everything, and now his life, his existence, hinged on what they did or said in response. But he knew, ultimately, he would respect anything they decided, because, well... they didn't really _need_ him anymore, did they?

The muddled bundle of emotions from his brother never shifted, but arms wrapped around him, pulling him close and startling him. "Al-?"

"Don't you dare try and leave." The American mumbled into his shoulder. "I don't give a fuck what excuse you have, if you try to go I'm hunting you down myself."

"Alfred..."

"Arthur, he was there for me when you couldn't be."

"How do you know he - or it - isn't just lying to get your sympathy?"

"Damnit I think I can tell my own brother apart from someone or something pretending to be him! You'd be able to tell if one of your brothers was different, wouldn't you?"

England frowned. "Of course. I'm just..." He sighed, shutting his ideas. "There are many dangerous spirits and magical creatures in the world, and it would be a bloody pain if you got hurt when I could have done something about it. I know you want to trust Matthew, but we have no proof he is who he says he is."

"Yeah, we do." America turned to look at his older brother. "Mattie's always had this, I dunno, presence. Even when I'm not paying attention I can always tell if he's nearby. I always thought it was a twin thing, since there was no one else who could really help. But he's always had it for as long as I can remember, and he has it now. Unless your so-called 'evil spirit' could do that too even though I never told anyone, then be my guest and kick Mattie out now."

"They could, given access to your mind." The island Nation's gaze moved from America to Canada, still not willing to trust him. A hand reaching into his suit pocket, pulling out a... lighter? There was also a small bundle of herbs that - oh no, _sage_.

The Natives had used that for a long time to ward Spirits off - its smoke was nasty to them, and sapped their strength if they lingered for too long. He didn't even want to know how he'd react now. England seemed to note his worry, because his eyes glinted in that way that always meant bad news before igniting the bundle and shoving it under his nose.

The smoke wafted up, being drawn involuntarily into his body. An uncomfortable feeling welling up in him, growing by the second, until he couldn't contain it-

A huge sneeze blasted the herbs out of the startled Brit's hands, scattering the still-smoking herbs around the bed. While the older man stared in bafflement, Canada rubbed at his nose and sniffled, throat and nose still ticklish from the remaining smoke. Well, at least it hadn't been worse, although an allergy was not something to laugh at when it made your eyes water like they were now.

America was the first to break the silence, his boisterous laughter quickly filling the room. "Oh my god, you were being all serious and then he just - and your face when they went everywhere I can't-"

The Canadian was slow to follow, but his quiet laughter soon wove into his brother's, relief and amusement at the sheer absurdity of the moment too much to keep in. They leaned on each other to keep from falling over as they laughed, tension draining as they simply enjoyed the moment.

The Briton was the last to react, slowly shifting his thoughtful gaze from the scattered plants to the brothers, seeming to come to a decision at last. A hand came to rest on the northern twin's shoulder, startling him - and by default his brother - out of their moment.

"...I still don't like this. And I doubt I'll be able to trust your motives for a while. But... for now, I'm willing to believe you, Matthew."

Canada blinked, startled, before a grin grew across his face. He reached out, pulling his older brother into a tight hug. "...thank you. Thank you thank you thank you-"

And at that moment he truly was... for everything.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: And with that another plot bunny complete and out of my hair for good. Aha I'm actually kinda glad it was shorter than expected, because now I can focus on other things without this thing I promised hanging over me.

...did I do alright? This last chapter was not dragged out easily. In fact I hated it for a good chuck of time while I was writing it. Bleh.


End file.
